Feed mechanism



Mar. 13, 1923. TLASRE E. C. PGGM..

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FEED MEGHANISM Filed May s, 1921 5 sheets-snee@ 5 Mar. 13, 1923. 1,448,713 l E. C. PUOI... l

FEED MECHANI SM Filed May 28, 1921 5 sheets-sheen 4 @JE/17:51? POO,

FEED MECHANISM 5 sheets-sheet 5 Filedmay 28; 1921 WN L m mw www Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

UNITED STATES OFFICE,

ELMER C. POOL, OF NEW CASTLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

FEED MECHANISM.

Application filed May 28, 1921. Serial No. 473,461.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER C. Pool., a citizen lof the United States, and resident of New Castle, in the county of Lawrence and State of Peniiisylva-nia, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Feed Mechanisms, of which the following a specification.

This inventionv is a continuation in part of the invention described in my application filed November 26, 1.920, having Serial No. 426,627, and relates to the manipulation of sheet metal plates, and more particularly to the feeding of such plates, one at a time, from a pile to a tinning machine, and has for one of its objects the producing of an improved feeding mechanism whereby a vacuum cup roller will be employed to lift the plates, one at a time, trom a pile, without moving more than one plate, and without disturbing the position of the plate or plates next to the one being moved.

Another object ofthis invention is to provide a friction roller having vacuum cup projections thereon adapted to adhesively engage the 'tace of the plate without the aid of a suction or vacuum producingdevice.

The above and other objects and advantages will be more fully brought out in the following specification and claims, and will be fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a sec-tional side elevation ol the device.

Figure 2 is a top plan thereof.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation thereof.

Figure 4 is a side elevation showing the driving connections.

Figure 5 is anl enlarged detail view of the feed roller partly in section.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional elevation on the line VI-VI of Figure 5.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A designates a tinning pot, in itseltI an old and approved form. `The pot is separated transversely by a vertical wall or partition 2, into compartments B and (ci. The lower edge of this partition or septum 2 which. terminates above the bottom of the tinning pot, and the upper edge of a rib or projection 3 on the bottom of the pot defines the width or vertical dimensions of a narrow passage or opening l), through which the plates, while submerged in the bath ot molten tin, pass from the compartment B into the` compartment C of the pot A. The

particular pot shown is of a width which permits of two or more plates, side by side, being passed through the tinning pot.

Located immediately 4above the upper edgi-i of the compartment B, at the plate entering side of the tinning pot, are two sets oi' .feed rollers E and F, which are a1-- ranged to receive the plates from my improved feeding mecl'ianism to be described, and to move them forwardly and `down@ wardly into the tin pot at an angle to the horizontal.

The feed rollers F are at a somewhat lower level than the rollers E, and an adjustable roller G is located onthe discharge side of the set F to guide and direct the front end of the successive plates forwardly and downwardly and into the molten tin in. compartment B, as they emerge from between the rollers F. p

Positioned within the compartment B, closely adjacent to the passage D, is a set of pressure rolls I. These pressure rolls feed the plates from compartment B into the compartment` C.

Two sets of feed-out rollers dA and are providedin the compartment C of potiA to feed-out the plates and also to squeezey oil surplus tin from the plates.

An inclinedapron plate l0 isV provided at the entrance end of the compartment B of the pot to receive the plates as they are delivered from my improved feeding mechauism. Other guide plates l2r and 13, are

arrangi-id to guide the plates to the rolls F` and I, and curved guide plates 14C andla form a guide N which directs the forward end of the plates emerging from the set. of pressure rolls I upwardly into the bite of the lower set J of the feed-out rllers J and K.

My improved feeding mechanism as shown is adapted to be located directly to the rear of the tinning pot and comprises a double set ot' parts arranged side by side so as to.k

act on two piles of plates at one time, thereby feeding two plates, side by side, into the tinning machine.

framework or supporting structure 1G is secured to and extends rearwardly from the tinning` pot A and supports the several parts comprising my feeding mechanism. A bosh or receptacle 17, secured to and extending` below the framework 16, is adapted to contain a vertically adjustable plate pile holder. The plate holder comprises a baclr rest meub ber 19 which is secured to the back wall of the bosh 17 and projects inwardly and downwardly on an angle, so as to slidably support an L-shaped plate retainer 2() which is of sufficient width to hold two piles of plates side by side. The plate retainer 20 is adjustably held in position and adapted to be vertically adjusted by means of a pair of chains 21, one of which is secured on each end and thereof and passed upwardly over suitable sheaves 22 splined on a shaft 23. This shaft is journaled in the bosh and a ratchet and dog operating mechanism 24 is provided on one end outside of the end wall of the bosh.

Mounted on the rear edge of the support* ing framework 16 at each end and at the center thereof is a bracket 25 supporting a shaft 26, the shaft having four arms 27 loosely mounted thereon for pivotal movement.

The arms 27 have a pair of cylindrical vacuum cup rollers Y journaled and supported in their lower ends, and the center arms have their upper ends counterweighted by' adjustable counterweights 29 mounted on a projecting arm 30. A locking lever 31 is pivoted on the arms 27, having the counterweights adjacent their upper ends, and such lever is provided with a notch 32 to engage with the projecting tongue 33 on the frame 16 so as to hold the rollers Y out of their plate engaging posit-ion when desired.

The vacuum cup lifting rollers Y are somewhat similar to the well known vacuum cup pneumatic tire, each comprising a cylindrical hollow body 34 of metal having bearings 35 at each end, joined to the body by suitable spokes 36, and having an outer covering 38 of elastic material, such as rubber, which is provided with a series of closed vacuum cups or projections 39, having con- 'cave faces forming adhesive members adapted to engage and adhere to the plates to be lifted.

VThe projections 39 are preferably arranged in rows and the projections of one row are staggered with relation to those of the next row. rlhe projections or vacuum 1 cups 39 are different from the ordinary suction cups employed to feed paper, etc., 1n that they are closed cups and need no suction or vacuum producing device to cause the plates to adhere to them. On the contrary they are formed of sutiiciently resilient or elastic material that they will compress against the plate and force the air from their hollow faces and adhere to the plates rather than have the plates sucked up gainst them.

`The rollers Y are mounted in pairs on shafts 37 journaled in suitable bearings formed in the lower ends of the arms 27, and are adapted to be rotated by means hereinafter described.

It will readily be seen that as the rollers Y are rotated, the rows of vacuum cup projections 39 will successively engage the ontermost plate of the pack in the container 2.o9 thus adhering to the plate and moving 1t upwardly.

ySuitable cross-beams L10- 40' are arranged from one end of the frame support 1G to the other immediately above the upper edge of the bosh, and carry suitable curved guide strips 11,42 arranged to form an upwardly T and inwardly inclined passageway to guide the plates being conveyed.

A second pair of crossbeams lliis arranged forward and above the cross-beams 40, and carry other guide strips forming a second passage-way adapted to receive the plates from the passage-way botween the strips 4142, and direct them forwardly and upwardly between suitable pinch rollers 46 and 47 ol' any well-known construction.

The lower one of the pair of pinch rollers E is driven by a suitable source of power and carries a sprocket 48 on each end. The pinch roller 46 also carries a sprocket 4S on each end in line with the sprocket 48, and a third sprocket fll is mounted on each end of the shaft 26 in line with the sprockets 48 and. 481. A link chain 49 is trained over the sprockets 1S, 4S, 41B", thus driving the pinch rollers E, pinch rollers lli and 47, and shaft at the same speed. lt will be understood that if found desirable in practice, a single set of drive sprockets may be used.

A pair of sprockets 5l) ol' somewhat smaller diameter than the sproclwts 4S, 48') are mounted on the ends ot' the shaft 2G, and a sprocket 51, of greater diameter than sprockets 50, is mounted on the outside end ol' the Shafts 37, and a link chain 52 is trained over I the sprockets 5() and 5l to constantly drive the conv-eyeimembers, which will lil-cessarily revolve at a lesser speed than the pinch rollers ll and pinch rollers lo, i7, due to the difference in size of the sprockets 50 and 5l.

A crosssbeam member 5l is arranged forward of the rollers 16-447 and has two pairs of suitably' spaced depending lugs 55 which support pivot rods or shafts 5G adapted to have guide plates 57 hingedly supported thereon. Plates 57 have a crank arm 58 secured thereto which abuts the cross-beam 54 when the plate is in its lowermost; position. and carries a counterweghted lever 59 to normally hold it in such position.

Supported on suitable cross-beams (3() forward of the hinged plates 57, and in proximity thereto, is a. pair of guide plates (il. The plates Gl are formed of top and bottom pointed portions, the top portions being directed forwardly over the rollers E and the bottom portion directed downwardly and forwardly to the passage between the rollers E.

The inclined apron 1() of the tinning pot llO is arrangedbelow the plates 57 and 6l, and completes the p`assage-way to the rollers E.

Thehinged counter-weighted guide plates 57 `serve asa trap so that; if more than one plate or sheet should be carried through the pinch rollers Llf3-a7 their tension will be a sufficient bearing against the guide plate 57 to counteract the counterweighted lever 5,9 and 1` raise the guide plate, thereby allowing the plurality of feed plates or sheets to pass over the dualguide plates 6l and away from the tinning pot.

vlVlagnetic separators X are mounted above each of the rollers Y and comprise a rectanguiar casing member G3 pivotally supported. on the cross-beam d0. The casing G3 contains a permanent magnet Gil and is pro-- vided with blades or knife edge poles 65 which extend into the path of the lifted platesand contact with the rear faces there of. The magnet Get has less adhering power than the plate lifter Y, and, therefore, will not materially retard the movement of the plates, yet it of sufficient strength that if two plates should stick or in some manner be lifted together, .it will retard the movement of the second plate and thus separate them.

A still further means for preventing the feeding of more than a single plate into the tinning pot is located just to the rear of the pinch rollers i6-47, and comprises a shaft 6T journaled in the frame support 1G and having a plurality of locking fingers 68 of triangular' shape secured thereon, and of such size that their flat sides will extend past the guide strips and into the path of the lifted plates. The plates, as guided between the strips la and 45, will bear against the upper strips ldue to the direction of their travel, and in this position they will strike the fingers 68 and cause the shaft and fingers to rotate one-third of a revolution; thereby presenting one of the other faces of the fingers against the plate. lf a second plate is overlapped on the first in such a n'ianner that its forward edge isdisposed to the rear of the forward edge of the first plate, it will strike the fingers and be held, since the fingers cannot again rotate until the first plate has passed from under and is clear of the fingers.

Another feature and function of these fin gers is that they will cause an even feed of the plates from both of the feed rollers Y, since if one roller feeds a plate in advance of the other, the first to reach or strike the fingers G8 will rotate them the one-third turn, and then lock them against rotation until it has passed from thereunder, andthe plate that is in the rear will be held until the lingers are again freed when another plate will he presented by the other feed roller to follow the one iust clearing the fin gers.` thus causing the newly presented plate,

plate, to pass together to the out the use ofsuction or vacuum producing` devices, the plates being fed through the guide passages to the pinch rollers i6-47, which will in turn feed it to the pinch rollers E` of the tinningpot.

The operation of the three separate mechanisms for preventing more than one plate :s being carried to the tinning pot, have also been fully described above, and will not be gone into again, although these mechanisms are important features and are distinct improvements over any devices heretofore linown.

Itvwillbe readilyunderstood that while l have described my invention in combina-- tion with a tinning pot, it is not limited to such use, but may be used wherever it is desired to feed single plates, and therefore I do not wish to be limited to such a combination.

It will also be understood that while I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention with great particularity, l do not wish nor do l intend to limit my invention to such structure, since various modifications in structure and combination of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the appended claims. For instance, modified forms of the lifting rollers Y may be used, wound active magnets may be substituted for the permanent magnets shown, or other such substitutions of equivalents made as found necessary or desirable.

It will also be further understood that this apparatus may be used to feed plates from a horizontal pile. llhat is, the plates may be moved longitudinally or sidewise from a horizontal pile, and the words lifted, or lifting, as used in the several claims will be understood to include this movement.

l. Plate feeding means comprising a rotary plate feeding member, said member having a plurality of closed vacuum cups on its surface adapted to adhesively engage a plate, and means for rotating said feeding member in the plate feeding operations.

Q. An automatic plate feeder for lifting and feeding single plates from a pile, comprising a rotary plate feeding member having a plurality of projections arranged in radial rows around its periphery, said projections being provided with cupped faces for adhesively engaging the exposed face of the outermostJ plate as the feeding member is rotated, and means for rotating said member.

3. The combination with a tinning pot,

of a rotary plate feeding member having a plurality of closed vacuum cups arranged in radial rows around its periphery, said feeding member operating to move plates one by one from a pile in which the plates bear one against the other.

4. The combination with a tinning machine for tinning metal plates, and a support for a pile of plates to be delivered to the machine vvitli the plates of the pile in faeewise engagement one with the other, of a rotary plate feeding member having a plurality of closed vacuum cups projecting from its face and arranged in rows disposed diametrically around its periphery, said rows of cups being adapted to successively engage the exposed face of the outermost plate as the feeding member is rotated, said feeding member operating to move plates one by one from said pile.

5. A rotary plate feeding member comprising a cylindrical nonyielding body plate to be fed.

6. A rotary plate feeding member comprising a cylindrical non-yielding body portion, an outer covering of yielding material secured around the periphery of said nonyielding body portion, and a series of closed vacuum cups projecting from the face of said yielding covering and arranged in rows disposed diametrically around the periphery of said feeding member, said rows of cups being adapted to successively engage the. plate to be fed.

7. A rotary feeding member comprising a cylindrical yielding body portion, and a series of closed vacuum cups arranged around its periphery adapted to engage and adhesively grip a plate to be fed Without the aid of a vacuum producing device.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

ELMER C. POOL. 

